Accordion or concertina.



Patented Dec. 1,3, 1910.

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R. C. LEPPERT.

AOGOBDION 0B CONGBRTINA.

' ArrLxonIox Hun 1211.21, 1910.

978,460. Patented 1166.111910.

3 BEEETB-EHEET 2.

1H: usuels Pzrrns co., wasumnromn. C.

R. G. LBPPERT.

AGGORDION 0R CONUBRTINA.

APPLICATION FILED Arnal, 1910.

978,460 Patented Dec.13,1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 W newses' 2517/7371/31.'

ca/gaaf l 1702# 6 Zep/587% nis npnms P11525 cn., wuumcroll, ny cv ROBERT C. LEPPERT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ACCORDION OR COCERTINA.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 13, 1910.

Application filed April 21, 1910. Serial No. 556,756.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Bonner C. Lnrrnar, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Accordions or Concertinas, of which the following is a. specification.

This invention relates to improvements in accordions or concertinas, and it consists in certain peculiarities of the construction, novel arrangement and operation of the various parts thereof, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth. and specifically claimed.

The principal obj ect of the invention is to provide an accordion or concertina of such construction that the general etliciency of the instrument will be augmented by providing means for increasing its range, or in other words, for producing more musical notes and combination of notes, than can be produced by the use of concertinas of the ordinary construction.

Another obj ect of the invention is to provided a new and improved movement of the key-levers and of the valves which they carry, and operate, to the end that the ports or openings which said valves control will be opened and closed completely and quickly, and not by degrees, or one part thereof at a time.

Still another object of the invention is to furnish simple, cheap and effective means for producing a smooth, undulating, trembling tone or tremolo when desired.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will bc disclosed in the subjoined description and explanation.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invention pertains, to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe it, referring to the accompanying drawings in which Figure l., is a plan sectional View taken on line 1 1 of Fig. 3, showing a portion of a concertina embodying the invention with the hand strap thereof omitted; Fig. il, an end view in elevation of one end of the instrument with the hand strap thereof omitted; Fig. 3, is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3 3 of F l, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows, showing the means for controlling one of the valves employed to change the course of the passage of air to and from the reeds; Fig. 4l, is a detail view in section of a portion of the box of the concertina showing a part of the means for operating the air-controlling valve in another position from that shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5, is an inner face view of the reedbox, chamber or compartment showing the means for controlling the passage of air thereto and therefrom; Fig. (3, is a vertical sectional view taken on line G 6 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 7, is a similar view taken on line 7 7 of Fig. 5, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. S, is a view in front elevation of the reed-board, showing the key-levers mounted thereon; Fig. 9, is a fragmental view of the reed-board, the keylevers, and their valves being removed therefrom, and illustrating the brackets on which said levers are fulcrumed; Fig. 10, is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the reedboard, showing the reed-boxes and key-levers mounted thereon, and illustrating` by dotted lines some of the positions the parts will occupy in the operation of the instrument; and Fig. 1l, is a fraginental sectional view of the reed-board, showing the manner of constructing` and arranging some of the keylevers thereon.

Like numerals of reference, refer to corresponding parts throughout the different views of the drawings.

As the construction of concertinas is well known, and as my invention does not require the changing of the parts thereof, except the location of the tremolo boxes, I have shown only enough of the instrument to illustrate the construction and operation of my improvements, and will describe only such parts as is necessary, to a proper understanding thereof.

The reference numeral l5, designates one of the end boxes of the concertina which is provided as usual with reed-boxes 1G, provided with reeds 17, of the ordinary construction, and with key-levers which are fulcrumed on' suitable brackets 18, secured on the outer surface of the reed-hoard 19, which is provided with openings Q0, leading to the reed-boxes, and which openings are controlled by means of valves 2l, mounted on the key-levers 22, at one of their ends. These levers are extended horizontally in front of the reed-board 19, when the instrument is held in position for playing and have on their ends opposite the valves Q1, keys 23, extended through suitable openings in the key-board 2st, as is clearly shown in Fig. of the drawings. -ls shown in Figs. l. S, and lt), the key-levers which close the openings 2o, on one side of the brackets 1S, are held in their closed positions by means of sprinr'" a rod 2o.

mounted at its ends on suitable lnackets 2T, secured to the outer surface of f the reed-board. l`he key levers 22a. 22".

the two latter of which carry valves 2l, tov

near its fulcruni with a foot ill, which rests i on the ends of the key-levers 22, and alternatelv, so that when the free ends of the levers 222-, are depressed, the valves 2l, on the leversv 22", and 22T', vill be raised from the openings 20, which lead to the reedboxes lo. s the levers 22a, which control the levers 22", are depressed, it is apparent that the levers 22C. will be raised at their valved ends, in which operation the projections 232, on the outer surfaces of the valves on the levers 22", will contact with the springs and as the valves are secured to said levers by meansl of flexible pieces 233, such as leather dis s', the said valves will be caused to move and instantly and completely open the ports 20. which they control. The same operation will be performed with the key-levers which control the levers 22h, except that instead of the valves on the lastnamed levers being` provided with projections 32 said projections are omitted and a rail 34, secured to the brackets SO, in parallelism with the board 19, will act as a stop for the valves 2l. on the levers 22h, so as to hold them, and thus keep the openings 20. completely exposed.

Secured to the box l5, which is at the melody end of the instrument, is a bellows 35, of the ordinary construction, which is united at its other end to the other box, not shown, of the instrnn'ient. Located at the inner end of the box l5, is a partition 8G, which is provided with an opening 3T, for the passage of air to and from the reed chamber, which opening is closed by means of a valve 3S, hingedly connected at its upper end to the partition 3G, above said opening therein. This valve may be provided with felt 39, to prevent rattling and to cause it to close the opening 37, more effectively. 0n each side of the opening 37, the partition 36, is provided with an opening 40, and 4l, around which openings are formed boxes 42, and 43, respectively, which boxes are inclined toward the partition 36, at their lower and upper ends respectively, as is shown in 2F. secured at one of their ends on Fig. G, of the drawings. Each of the walls ll, of said boxes, is provided with an opening 45, around which is secured a cushion 4G, formed of sponge rubber, and each of said cushions has its free surface provided with a strip of felt 4T. By reference to Fig. G, it will be understood that the cushion dit, of the box il2, is secured around the opening l5, thereof within said box, while the cushion 46, on the box 48, is secured around the openingl 4.4-, thereof on the outside of said box. Each of the openings l5, in the boxes l2, and 443, is controlled b v a valve 4:8, each of which is preferably provided on its surface adjacent to the cushion 6, with a flexible strip t9, which is secured at its upper end to a block 50, so that the valves may have free swinging movement. Connected to each of the valves 48, b v means of a resilient piece 5l, is a weight 52, which will vibrate when the valves are closed suddenly and cause the instrument to produce tremolo sounds.

Extending through the upper portion of the key-board 2li, is a push pin 53, which has on its inner end an enlargement 54;, to prevent it being moved outwardly too far. Extended longitudinally of the box l5, and from the enlargement ll, is a rod 55, which is supported by a bracket 5G, secured to the inner surface of the box 15, and has thereon, a disk 5T, against which one end of a spring 5S, coiled around said rod, rests, the other end of said spring resting against the reed-board 19. The inner end of the rod 55, ilnpinges against a disk 59, on one end of a rod GO, which is supported on a bracket G1, secured to the inner surface of the box 15, and said rod has its other end pivotally connected to a lever G2, which is fulcrumed on the partition 36, and is adjustably connected at its lower end to the valve 8S, by means of a screw 63. The 'alve 38, is connected by means of a spring Gl, to the tremolo box lf3, which spring normally holds said valve in its open position, and the parts which control said valve in their normal positions as shown in Fig. 3, of the drawings, in which ligure, as well as in Fig. el, it will be seen that the push pin 53 is formed with a shoulder 53a, to engage a plate G5, secured on the outer surface of the key-board 24, just below the opening therein, through which the push pin 58, is extended. By this arrangement, it will be seen that when the push pin is pressed to the position shown in Fig. 4, the shoulder 53a, will engage the plate G5.

and hold the parts controlling the valve 38, in the positions shown in the last-na1ned figure, so as to cause said valve to close the opening 37, in the partition 36, which divides the reed-chamber from the bellows. The openings 37, 4:0, and etl, may be covered by means of a wire screen 66, so as to prevent the passage of dust or other foreign substances into the instrument. The box l5, may be provided with a lever 67, having a connection G8, passing around a pulley 69, and connected to the valve 70, for the opening 7l, for the intake oit air. The instrument may also have the ordinary hand piece 72, and strap 73, therefor.

From Athe l'oregoin and by reference to the drawings, it will be clearly seen and readily understood, that by extending and retracting the bellows and operating the keys and lever controlling the intake ot' air, it will pass Jfrom the opening Tl, into the bellows and from thence through the opening 3T, in the partition 36, when the valve 3S, thcretm', is open, without producing any except the ordinary eii'ect on the reeds, but by pressing the push pin 52E, inwardly and through its connection with the valve 3S, causing the same to close the opening 237, the air will be caused to pass through the openings el, in the tremolo boxes 42, and 43, thus raising the valves 4S, thereof, which, by reason oi the weights 52, suspended therefrom by the vibratory pieces 5l, will cause the instrument to produce tremolo sounds, and by reason ot the sponge rubber cushions lo, said sounds will be smooth and undulating, and without the common mechanical eli'ect. lt is apparent that by causing the shoulder 5i a, on the push pin to engage the plate 65, the opening 37, in the partition 36, may be kept closed for any desired length oli time, thus continuing the tremolo sound, but when it is desired to discontinue such sound. the shoulder may be disengaged from the plate, when the springs 5S, and (if-l, will restore the connections between the push pin 53, and the valve 3S, as well as said valve, to their normal positions.

llaving thus it'ully described my invention what. l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent isl. ln a concertina, the combination with an end box having reeds and keys, of a bellows secured to one end of the box, a partition located between the bellows and the reed compartment and having openings therein, a box located around each ot said openings and each provided with an opening in its wall opposite the partition, a sponge-rubber cushion located around each of the openings in said walls, and a vibratory valve to close each ot' said openings in the boxes and to rest on each of said cushions.

2. l'n a concertina, the combination with an end box having reeds and keys, of a bellows secured to one end ot the box, a partition located at the juncture of the bellows with the box and having a plurality of openings therein, a` pair of tremolo boxes mounted on the partition within the bellows, each oiE said boxes sin-rounding one of the openings in the partition and having an opening in its wall opposite the partition, a spongerubber cushion located around each of the openings in said walls, a vibratory valve adapted to coact with each of said cushions and to close each of the openings which they surround, a springactuated valve mounted to close an opening interposed between the tiret-named openings, the means connected to said valve to control the same.

3. In a concertina, the combination with an. end box having reeds and keys, of a bellows secured to one end ot' the box, a partition located between the bellows and the reed con'ipartmentand having a pair ot' openings tor the tremolo boxes and an opening between the same for the passage otl air, a tremolo box located around each ot two of said openings each provided with an inclined wall opposite the partition, each of said walls having an opening, a spongerubber cushion located around each of the openings in said walls, vibratory valves to coact with said cushions and to close the openings in the walls of the boxes, a` valve to close the opening for the passage of air, and means to control said valve.

ROBERT C. LEPPERT.

litnesses z J. E. HANSEN, Giras. C. TILLMAN. 

